Digital Marketing

SEO During A Recession (Does It Still Work?)

It doesn’t take a professional economist to predict that global markets are heading for a downturn.

Last year, inflation rates were in the United States hovering around 7%with the International Monetary Fund Expect the worst yet to come. People everywhere are feeling the crisis of high gas prices and rising food costs.

And with expenses soaring, many companies are preparing to tighten their belts, cut unnecessary spending, and ride the storm until global markets turn around.

Since you are looking to reduce the fat in your own company, it can be very tempting to cut your advertising and marketing budget.

This is a big mistake.

By eliminating or even curtailing your marketing efforts, you are harming the growth and maintenance of your customer base. It will be difficult to reach new customers while existing customers will not be aware of new products, services and deals.

Remember, marketing is an investment, not an expense. And in an era dominated by the internet, this is especially true of search engine optimization.

So, if you’re thinking of cutting your SEO budget, don’t.

seriously. Don’t even think about it.

SEO can keep moving the needle for your business, even when other growth initiatives are about to happen.

In this article, we’ll look at why this happens and explain why SEO should be an important part of your marketing plan, regardless of economic conditions.

Why does SEO work so well in economic downturns?

When times are tough, you need to find a better value for your dollar. Your finances need to expand and work harder.

In marketing, there are few channels that work harder than researching most products and services.

How do we know this? Because economies are cyclical, this isn’t our first rodeo recession.

In the age of SEO (i.e. since roughly 1991), we’ve had Three Great Recessions. During these times it is discovered that SEO is still working. This can be attributed to several reasons, namely:

  • It is flexible: Even if you are a small fish competing with an industry-dominant competitor, SEO gives you the flexibility to attract new customers. Long tail keywords help you target very specific searches. A local search helps people in your area find you, and a regularly updated website lets visitors know you’re thriving (or at least maintaining), despite the larger economic environment.
  • It is integrated: SEO is matched with Facebook, Snapchat, or something else to help your business appear in search results. This creates an inbound marketing funnel just by taking a perfect approach to the things you probably already do.
  • It’s budget friendly: Aside from the computer/internet/electricity costs – which you actually pay for – SEO is basically an investment of time. Even if you outsource your search engine optimization, you’re paying for your expert’s time and not hard costs like billboards, paid digital ads, and TV ads (all of which also require an investment in labor).

To reap the benefits of SEO, you don’t need to buy anything; Just do your homework, create great content, and optimize your site for web crawlers.

Now that we’ve established that SEO can work in times of economic uncertainty, let’s look at what you need to do to make it work for you.

How to prepare for SEO in a bad economy

Whether you are a freelancer, an agency, or an in-house SEO, there are things you need to do to prepare your decision makers for the economic downturn.

If you skip this, there’s a good chance you’ll be cut into the rest of your marketing budget.

When the economy takes a turn for the worse, the key to keeping decision makers informed about your search marketing efforts comes down to effective tracking and communication about the value it provides.

The first step is making sure that you and your customer are up to date on how the campaign is performing.

If you don’t already know your Customer lifetime value And Customer acquisition costsNow is the time to find out. This will give you a metric to consider when calculating the value of your SEO work.

You need to adopt referral models if you’re still looking at search last click metrics.

Your goal is to make your business irreplaceable. This means communicating your value early and often.

You also need to let the decision makers know that even if someone offers to do the job cheaper (and they will), your results will more than make up for any additional costs of hiring you.

But to do that, you need to be on the same page with the decision maker.

In order to be on the same page, you must agree to the results.

Goals are key to minimizing disruption during downturns

Once you agree on the results, you can start setting SMART goals for what the results will be.

Set the goal and get the decision maker to agree to it. This helps you set yourself up for long-term success.

And get it in writing (whether on paper or digitally), if applicable, with both parties’ signatures.

This proves in no uncertain terms that the relationship will last if the goals are achieved.

It is definitely a risk if you don’t achieve goals, so don’t set a goal that you don’t think you can achieve.

If the decision maker wants to set an unrealistic goal, you need to step back.

Suggest making an unrealistic goal a “stretch goal” and setting a more realistic real goal.

Don’t feel pressured into agreeing to something you can’t achieve.

And make sure your plans are tailored to your specific situation, whether that be as a freelancer, SEO agency, or B2B marketer.

As a freelancer: Diversification and focus on core competencies

For people who make a living selling their services and expertise to companies, downturns can be daunting.

And it’s not just about not being able to find new customers – it could be existing customers who decide to reduce their costs with in-house SEO or even old customers who suddenly don’t have the money to pay you.

There is no foolproof way to keep your customers, and unfortunately, attrition is part of the game. However, there are some things you can do to set yourself up for continued success.

The first thing you must do is diversify your customer base. Some industries will be hit harder than others by recessions.

While this can be great if your customers are largely unaffected, it can be disastrous if they are struggling in an industry. It can be difficult to predict which fields will struggle and which will thrive.

You must also find measurable ways to prove your value and expand your core competencies. This means clearly defining your goals (see section above). It also means changing the queries you target to reflect economically driven changes in customer behavior.

For more information, we have an excellent article from the COVID-19 recession where SEO experts gave us their tips for keeping SEO customers when the going gets tough.

As an agency: managing relationships with existing clients

If you’ve been working for a digital agency during a recession, you already know that marketing budgets are usually one of the first things to cut. This makes good customer management very vital.

Communication and a personal touch can go a long way to showing your commitment to your customers. Of course, getting measurable results doesn’t hurt either.

You should use recession as an opportunity to find new areas of opportunity. What has changed in the target customer’s behavior due to financial pressures? How can you help the client position themselves as the ideal solution?

Focus on strengthening your relationships, give timely advice, and when in doubt, overcommunicate. These are surefire ways to stay in your customers’ good graces.

You also need to understand where your agency is at risk. If you fear losing customers, identify specific actions you can take to mitigate those risks.

Review your software subscriptions and other tools to see if you can disconnect one or more subscriptions if necessary.

With everyone worried about their business, it might also be a good time to renegotiate with the vendors.

And don’t forget your team. Your employees will be just as stressed as everyone else. Create a concrete plan to keep them motivated and productive.

For more ideas on how to maintain your SEO agency during a downturn, be sure to read this article.

As a B2B company: prioritizing the right marketing strategy and platform

In a shaky economy, B2B marketing needs to work harder and do more. And search engine optimization is a key area where you can beat your competitors without increasing your budget.

While you may be tempted to switch all of your resources into areas that deliver short-term results like sales promotion or performance marketing, abandoning your SEO strategy is a big mistake.

For one thing, you’re giving up all the hard work you’ve already done to get your site to rank on Google, allowing your competitors to swoop in and steal those clicks right out from under you.

Not to mention, you risk being forgotten once the recession is over.

Instead of panicking, re-evaluate your SEO strategy.

How did you do before the recession? What keywords were you strong in, and what keywords were you weak in? Are there any relevant queries that you can start targeting that will bring in traffic that others in your industry might miss?

Give customers or potential clients confidence in your offerings by featuring reviews, testimonials, and case studies on your website. These tend to use slang in your industry, which helps your rankings as well.

You should also rethink the platforms you use. Obviously, your SEO strategy will focus primarily on Google, adhering to the latest best practices to increase your search engine ranking. However, it is also important not to neglect your social media presence.

This is an often forgotten way to rank in search results for specific keywords, often without much extra effort. This is one of the few exceptions where it is acceptable to use duplicate content for SEO purposes.

For example, you can share your latest blog post on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter and generate traffic, all with just one piece of content.

Make sure you take a close look at your integrated campaigns and how they are performing.

Are you on the same platform as your audience? Are you positioned correctly on each one?

For example, if you sell scrap metal to industrial companies, posting a video of your employees doing a viral dance on TikTok probably does you one bit.

For more information on developing a sustainable B2B digital marketing plan, be sure to read this article.

The bottom line is the bottom line

The business is about revenue – hopefully profit. But in difficult times, you cannot follow the same methods that you used in the days of power.

You need to make smarter decisions that allow you to work more efficiently without sacrificing quality. This is especially true of your SEO strategy.

Just remember, there is light at the end of the tunnel. No recession will last forever, and no boom will last.

That’s why it’s important to continually find new ways to add value with search engine optimization. Set your goals, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and don’t lose heart.

If you can do these things, you’ll be poised to emerge from a looming recession stronger than you were.

More resources:

  • Why companies are turning to SEO in all economic climates
  • SEO Predictions: 3 Unique Ways to Prove Your SEO Value
  • The State of Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Performance, Salaries, and Budget

Featured Image: Paolo Bobetta/Search Engine Magazine

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